Team USA forfeits game vs. Switzerland due to COVID-19 issues

The United States forfeited Tuesday's World Junior Championship preliminary matchup against Switzerland due to COVID-19 issues, the IIHF announced.

Team USA must undergo a mandated quarantine following the positive test result of two of its players.

"We're extremely disappointed, especially for our players," U.S. national junior team general manager John Vanbiesbrouck said in a statement. "We've followed the tournament protocol from the outset and will continue to do everything we can to ensure our players have the opportunity to compete at the World Junior Championship."

Their quarantine status will be further evaluated to determine if they can play against Sweden on Wednesday.

The game will be recorded as a 1-0 victory for the Swiss and the team will be rewarded three standings points.

Efforts were initially made to postpone the matchup and reschedule it at a later date, according to Bob McKenzie of TSN.

Team USA postponed its pregame media availability earlier on Tuesday, according to TSN's Gord Miller.

The United States beat Slovakia 3-2 in their first preliminary contest. The Swiss dropped their tournament opener against Russia 4-2.

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